Yongnuo, a company out of Hong Kong, has become well known for making pretty darn good speedlight alternatives to Canon or Nikon. Theyâre generally several hundred dollars less expensive, and often just as good. They recently announced a couple new models, and I immediately ordered the very one Iâve been waiting for them to make: the YN468-II for Nikon.
For some time, Yongnuo flashes werenât compatible with DSLRâs TTL metering systems, which meant you needed to use them in manual mode. Not a big deal, but can be an absolute hassle at times. They have now implemented TTL into both their Canon and Nikon flash units, and this YN468-II is the first of this series to support Nikonâs iTTL. The iTTL implementation works flawlessly, and my shots came out perfectly exposed every time. It also incorporates an improved laser-based system for autofocus assist, which worked very well in low light and consistently allowed my D7000 to focus when it otherwise couldnât quite figure it out. The flash will also automatically zoom between 24mm and 85mm based on the focal length of the lens attached to your camera.
For a flash that costs just a hair over $100, youâd expect an awfully shoddy build. Fortunately, that couldnât be further from the case here. The speedlight feels incredibly solid in the hand, and is made with very nice feeling plastics. It doesnât have any latches that lock it into a position, but the clicks feel very solid and I have no concern about them wearing out over time. Build quality is certainly on par with Nikon and Canonâs offerings.
Yongnuo claims that the YN468-II has upgraded buttons, with a more solid click feel. While I havenât felt the original, I will say that these feel great, and are right in line with the quality of Nikonâs own speedlights.
The packaging is basic, but very Nikon-like in itâs gold and black glory. It comes with the speedlight in a velvet pouch, along with a snap-on diffuser and a tabletop stand. Triggering the flash as a slave worked perfectly, and I experienced no misfires or any issues at all.
The recycle speed is relatively quick, and with fresh batteries, it consistently from full power in under 4 seconds. Not blazing fast by any means, but quick enough for most scenarios. Considering how incredibly powerful this speedlight is at full power, Iâm pretty impressed that itâs even that fast.
Iâm not a big flash user, and I almost always prefer available light for my work, but occasionally you need one to do the job, and the Yongnuo YN468-II far exceeds what itâs price would lead you to believe. I wish there was more to say about this thing, but it really is just a great unit for an almost unbelievable price.
Yongnuo is currently selling the YN468-II on Amazon for $109.95, and considering thatâs $200 less than youâll pay for Nikonâs cheapest speedlight, the SBâ700, I really donât think you can go wrong.
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